Last Monday morning it was decided in the memery office that each week a nominated staff member would write a blog post for memery. The topic was yours to choose and obviously had to relate to the world of advertising. If it was your nominated week and your blog post was not in by Friday 5:00pm you become the “memery minion”. I must admit the thought of writing my first blog that would be viewed by my work peers as well as the possibility of becoming the memery minion seemed quite daunting. What do I write about?

It is the beginning of the year and many undergraduates are trying to find their first job in the real world, which can be very overwhelming. Maybe I can help someone out there, as I was once in the very same situation. Read my tips!

Three or so years gone, hundreds of dollars spent on text books, and even more hundreds of dollars spent on beer and finally you have that piece of paper confirming the completion of your University degree. What next? University is in no way like school where the lady in the careers office picks out the best options for you. Instead Uni gives you one last ‘motivational’ speech at graduation and sends you on your way. Alone. That is, unless you go back to spend more heinous hours studying for your Masters – Good luck!

For many people starting out, the toughest challenge seems to be standing out from the crowd and getting that first big break into an ad agency. To help you out I have attempted to devise a plan. So follow these steps to get your foot into the advertising door – or at the very least your big toe!

Step 1. Update your CV online.

Once your CV has been submitted your future employers are likely to stalk you on the internet, making sure you’re the right fit and don’t have a hidden double life. A great example of this is Flight Centre. They ask job seekers to submit LinkedIn, Blog and Twitter details – rather than traditional resumes/CVs when applying for jobs. Make sure all of your social media accounts are up-to-date, they will be checking.

There are also some nifty websites updated daily with jobs across Australia and some overseas.

The Loop is like Facebook for the professional world allowing you to showcase your work online and get notifications when a job that suits you is posted.

Step 2. Intern

Agencies look at interns as potential employees. If you have the opportunity to intern, then by all means, you should. Sometimes the Boss might make you his minion and you’re mostly fetching glasses of ice cold water, but if you fetch that glass of water as quickly as you can they might just see how determined you are ( I actually did this – lesson learned Matt Granfield). Usually though, Interning will help you get an “in” to the agency but you’ll also be able to work in various areas you wouldn’t otherwise.

Step 3. Mingle

It is really important to look for opportunities to meet with people that are actively working in the advertising industry. Surprisingly Brisvegas has a number of events at good bars where this is possible. Here are a few.

An informal morning catch-up session (every Friday) for people involved in the marketing, advertising, PR, and digital worlds to get together and talk about social media, marketing and all that sort of stuff.

Before you go to a networking function jot down the agencies in your city, their client list and best campaigns, so when you meet the Creative Director of one of these you’re not lost for words and make a good impression.

Go out there confidently and meet with people who could be your next potential employer.

Step 4. Ad Life

Breathe, live and even dream advertising. Immerse yourself in this world. This might sound a little extreme, nay, ridiculous but if you want your dream job you really need to know what campaign was released that day, what company had an epic PR fail and the next step Google has taken in online world domination. You never know what questions could be asked in the interview. Read blogs, follow on twitter, and become a fan of organisations that devote themselves to advertising news.

AdNews is Australia’s leading publication serving the advertising, marketing and media industries. Founded in 1928, it is published fortnightly in print with a daily email newsletter and comprehensive website.

Step 4 concludes my advice for getting a job in advertising – I hope my tips help someone out there looking for a job. As Ted Turner once said, “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise”. Good luck and look forward to hearing some feedback!

PS I submitted my blog before 5:00pm so I am thankfully not next week’s memery minion.

Awesome blog Annie! I totally agree with all of your ideas and definitely believe graduates should intern as much as possible. If we’re hiring, an intern will always be first in line, and after them would be someone who has interned somewhere else. We need to know they have an idea of how an agency actually works.

I would also recommend contacting agencies directly. We’re all short on time and if you make the effort to contact us and let us know you’re keen to intern, then we’ll take the time to check you out. It shows initiative.

One thing that has driven me mad in the past with graduates is their belief that they’re doing you a favour by interning for ‘free’. Those people never lasted long! So definitely true that you have to be eager to do everything, not just the fun stuff!

Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and everything. Nevertheless think about if you added some great images or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, this blog could undeniably be one of the greatest in its field. Great blog! single parents dating